Melanie McDonald never expected a day at the fair to change her diet. But, that’s exactly what happened after a visit to the Saanich Fair in 2015 left her grappling with the idea of eating meat.

“I was petting a beautiful, really friendly cow in a ring, then heard over the loudspeaker that it was to be auctioned off and would be processed into steaks and roasts all ready for the buyer to collect later,” she recalls. At that moment, the reality of connecting the dots between living animal and meat on a dinner plate hit her.

“I turned to my husband and told him that I would never eat meat again,” she says. And, true to her word, she hasn’t.

But, when she first ventured into the world of vegan recipes, she admits she was somewhat dismayed with what she discovered. The flavours she’d come to know and love as an omnivore, simply weren’t there.

“There are lots of recipes out there in books and online, but an awful lot of them fall flat when it comes to flavour,” she says. “The same with a lot of store-bought vegan products and vegan café/restaurant food.”

The recipes weren’t necessarily bad, she says. But, they simply weren’t as good as the non-vegan versions she’d eaten before.

“They were often lacking umami and needed more seasoning with herbs and spices, or more richness, creaminess or texture,” she says. “There is no getting away from it: meat, cream, cheese etc. add so much flavour to food, and when they are removed — if you aren’t careful — the food made can be a poor substitute for what you are used to eating, and leave you feeling disappointed and unsatisfied.”

Melanie McDonald is the founder of the blog A Virtual Vegan and the author of the new cookbook Vegan Comfort Cooking.Handout

McDonald decided she loved food too much to be disappointed for the rest of her life. But rather than give up on her vegan goals, and simply dip back into animal ingredients, she got busy in her home kitchen.

“I needed to start cooking clever, and work out ways to get that flavour and feel satiated without the animal products,” she says. “And that’s how A Virtual Vegan was born.”

On the site, McDonald began posting about the results of her tests in the kitchen as she attempted to find ways to make her favourite comfort food dishes with vegan ingredients (for those who are curious, she points to nutritional yeast and cashew nuts as her MVP additives).

“I love the creativity of cooking. Making something from nothing and being able to lose myself in the rituals of chopping, stirring etc. It’s my favourite form of stress relief,” she says of the cooking process. “I also love to feed people good food. It makes me very happy. I’m not going to lie though, one of the main reasons I enjoy cooking so much is because I love to eat!”

Safe to say, her tests were a success — and so was her blog. McDonald says that, while she expected A Virtual Vegan might garner a following from a few fellow vegans online, she never expected it to achieve the reach that it has today.

“The best complements are often those from people who tell me that my recipes are the reason they are able to stay vegan. That gets me every time and makes me feel incredibly proud,” she says. “I did also recently have a really big complement from a Greek chef regarding the Feta Cheese recipe on my website. He isn’t vegan, but wanted to provide a Feta cheese alternative for his vegan customers …

“He really couldn’t believe how authentic it is and absolutely loved it. He said I was a genius. That blew me away.”

McDonald recently celebrated the release of her first cookbook, titled Vegan Comfort Cooking (Page Street Publishing; $21.99) where she curated a collection of 75 of her favourite recipes in one colourful book.

“I still can’t believe it,” she says of her online occupation leading to a cookbook release.” Walking into bookstores and seeing my book on the shelves is pretty surreal.”

So, which recipe among those collected is her ultimate go-to?

“I think the Show Stopping Spinach Artichoke Dip is probably my favourite recipe in the book and the one I have made most since it’s creation,” she says. “I could literally eat the entire thing to myself if I wasn’t forced to share. It’s super rich, creamy, cheesy and garlicky and warm and gooey.

Show-stopping Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

“Nothing says the party’s here like a big dish of warm spinach and artichoke dip! It’s the perfect crave-worthy appetizer. It’s soft and creamy with loads of flavour and is great eaten warm or at room temperature. Serve it with chips, crackers, baguette slices, vegetable sticks, raw radishes (weird, I know, but it works!), toast or even garlic bread. I recommend using canned artichokes in brine over the ones you can buy in oil, for the tang they give. It helps cut through the creaminess and adds more depth to the flavour.”

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil or water over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, or until caramelized and golden. If you use water, you will need to add a little more gradually throughout, to prevent the onion from sticking. Add the chopped garlic in the last 2 minutes of cooking; then remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Shred the spinach leaves. Drain the artichokes and chop roughly into small, chunky pieces. Combine the spinach and artichoke in a large bowl, add the onion mixture and pour the tofu mixture over them. Stir really well and pour into a baking dish or ovenproof skillet. Top with a sprinkle of the Parm (if using) and bake for 30 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on top and bubbly around the edges.

Leftovers can be reheated gently in the oven or microwave, or can be enjoyed cold.

Tip: Prep up to a day ahead; then cover and store in the fridge overnight. Just add 5 minutes to the baking time.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Nutritional Yeast Note: Nutritional yeast is an ingredient that I use often in my recipes, and it is available in most grocery stores, health food stores and also from online retailers, such as Amazon. It is very different to the yeast you use to make bread or beer, so don’t try replacing it with that. In larger amounts, it gives a lovely cheesy flavour and is perfect for making such things as mac and cheese, but when used in small amounts it adds a savoury depth of flavour or a buttery flavour, such as in this recipe.

Cheesy Brazil Nut “Parm”

1 cup (135 g) raw Brazil nuts, or almonds

¾ cup (115 g) raw cashew nuts

½ cup (56 g) nutritional yeast

1 tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder

3 long strips lemon zest

Method

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients and pulse—it’s important to pulse and not run on full power, as otherwise you could end up with nut butter!— until the mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs. Then spoon into an airtight container and store in the fridge. It will keep for a couple of months

Yields 2½ cups (300 g)

Drool-Worthy Cinnamon Donuts

“There is nothing quite like fresh, warm donuts, and with this recipe, you get perfectly soft and fluffy donuts with no deep-frying. They are baked in the oven, but by the time they have been dipped in melted vegan butter, and rolled in their warming, comforting cinnamony sugary coating, they taste as if they had been fried. If you cook oil-free, I give instructions for how to make them without the butter; and if you don’t own a donut pan, don’t worry. You can bake them as muffins or as donut holes in a mini muffin pan instead.”

Vegan butter or coconut oil, for pan

1 cup + 3 tbsp (150 g) all-purpose flour

½ cup (100 g) cane or granulated white sugar

1¼ tsp (5 g) baking powder

1 ⁄8 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract

1 tbsp (15 ml) apple cider vinegar (see note below)

½ cup + 3 tbsp (165 ml) canned light coconut milk

Coating

½ cup (110 g) vegan butter (optional)

½ cup (100 g) cane or granulated white sugar

2 tbsp (15 g) ground cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and grease 6 wells of a donut pan with a little vegan butter or coconut oil.

Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; then whisk together to combine.

In another bowl, combine the vanilla, vinegar and coconut milk. Stir them together, and pour into the flour mixture. Gently stir until all of the flour is absorbed and you can no longer see any dry flour. Do not overmix or beat the batter. It will be a thick batter.

Spoon carefully and evenly into the prepared donut pan and level/tidy up the batter with the back of a teaspoon.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the donuts are coming away from the edge of the pan and a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes and then gently turn them out onto a cooling rack.

If you do not have a donut pan, divide the batter among 6 greased wells of a muffin pan and bake at 350°F (176°C) for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. For donut holes, divide the batter among the wells of a mini muffin pan and bake at 350°F (176°C) for 8 to 10 minutes.

Coat the donuts. While the donuts are still a little warm, gently melt the vegan butter in a microwave or in a pan over a very low heat on the stovetop. In a bowl big enough to fit the donuts into for dipping, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Using the butter ensures a good amount of sugar sticks to the donuts and helps give a “fried” flavour. However, if you want to keep the recipe oil-free, you can omit the butter, dipping the donuts into the cinnamon-sugar mixture while they are hot, and it will stick to them quite well.

Take each donut and dip it into the butter on each side and all around the edges then immediately place in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat on all sides. Be really generous with the sugar coating. They are best eaten freshly made but will keep for 2 to 3 days in a sealed container.

Tip: The donuts (without the coating) can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm for a few seconds in a microwave or for 5 minutes in a 375°F (190°C) oven; then coat as directed.

Makes six donuts.

Apple Cider Vinegar Note: You will find apple cider vinegar in most of my cake and sponge recipes. It is a must-have ingredient for any vegan baker. It might not seem like an obvious ingredient to add to a cake batter, but when combined with baking soda, a chemical reaction happens, making bubbles, creating air pockets and providing leavening. This, along with a little extra baking powder, replaces the leavening action that would otherwise be provided by eggs, so you get a light and fluffy sponge. Don’t be tempted to skip it or you will end up with a flat cake!